65 statues of human and animal figures found in Iran's Burnt City

Tehran, June 8 (ANI): Archeologists have unearthed 65 statues of human and animal figures in Burnt City, located in Iran's southeastern province of Sistan and Balouchestan.

According to a report in Press TV, the discovery, which comes along last winter excavations, included 65 small statues of human and animal figures.

"A small statue of a pregnant woman and a man wearing a necklace outshine the collection," said Mehdi Mortazavi, head of the archeological team in the Burnt City.

"A statue of a Sistan cow raised a theory suggesting people respected the animal 5,000 years ago," he added.

The archeologists have also discovered two pottery kilns in the region. One kiln was used to fire the clay tools and the other was used for the small statues.

"Sufficient resources of high quality clay, water resources as well as reeds and animal feces as fuel to fire the kilns are among the reasons the ancient dwellers chose pottery as their main industry and art," Mortazavi said.

Over 400 prehistoric sites have been excavated in Burnt City and archeologists expect the number to reach 1000.

The 5000-year-old Burnt City is located near the city of Zabol and covers an area of over 300,000 hectares.

Four civilizations have lived in the city, which was burnt down three times. It was not rebuilt after the last fire.

Till date, the world's oldest animated picture-book, dice and backgammon set, the earliest known caraway seed and artificial eyeball have been found in the Burnt City. (ANI)